A Labour minister sensationally refused to deny the Home Office is BUYING hotels for Channel migrants. Former Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf repeatedly questioned the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, over the rumours. Mr Jones squirmed, adding: “We own Government owned temporary accommodation, when people are waiting for a decision, that is true.
“We had to buy some of it to get people out of hotels.
Darren Jones dodged a key question on migrant hotels (Image: Getty)
The Channel migrant crisis has overwhelmed the UK asylum system (Image: Getty)
“But it’s temporary accommodation. It’s cheaper to do it that way.” It came during a furious row over the Channel migrant crisis. More than 15,000 people have crossed in small boats this year. Britain’s broken asylum system costs taxpayers around £4.7 billion every year. And Mr Jones sparked ridicule when he claimed the “majority” of small boat arrivals are women or children. Host Fiona Bruce then asked Mr Jones “you’re saying that’s not true?”
And Mr Jones claimed: “I’m saying it’s not true. “I’m saying this is controversial for a reason and you’re told you’re not supposed to challenge the audience on Question Time, but I’m going to.
“When there are babies and children put into that position by human trafficking gangs, who are coming across the Channel with skin burns from the oil from those boats mixing with the salt sea water, I would ask any of you to look at those babies and children and say ‘go back’.
Mr Yusuf hit back: “In my previous answer, I made the case that this Government prioritises foreign citizens over citizens of the United Kingdom.
“After that testimony, I can rest my case.
“The vast, vast majority of people making the journey from France by small boat are fighting age, military age, males, not women and children.
“We’re talking about asylum hotels, and Rachel Reeves saying we’re going to shut down asylum hotels.
“I spent many weeks in the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby.
“Runcorn is a very deprived area. And do you know the issue that exercised people so much?
“The reason is primarily because of HMOs – houses of multiple occupancies.
“In an unholy alliance of Serco and Yvette Cooper, illegal migrants are being deposited into communities and there’s no say for the local people.”
In an extraordinary row, Mr Yusuf and Mr Jones also clashed over claims the Government is buying hotels.
And furious voter demanded Border Force intercept every migrant dinghy that leaves France as he slammed politicians’ record on immigration.
The voter said: “I voted Labour, and if we had an election tomorrow, I would still vote Labour.
“But they would lose and we would be under a Reform Government, a Government with no plans and no clue what they are doing.
“I’ll give you a clue.
“We’ve got something called Border Force. The clue is in the name.
“Send the Border Force out boats out there, as soon as the dinghies leave French waters, turn them around, send them back, disembark the passengers and take away the boats.
“That’s how you the smash the gangs, not by flying all over the world like Sir Keir Starmer.
“Instead of saying, let’s build more homes for immigrants, let’s have less immigrants for homes.
“One of you please answer that directly.
“We need direct action. We need it now.
“There’s your savings, right there.”.
Treasury documents show that taxpayers will still be shelling out £2.5 billion in 2028/2029 on asylum.
Spending plans also show the Home Office will spend 3.6 billion on asylum in 2025/2026, £3.6bn in 26/27 and £2.9bn in 27/28.
Border Security and Asylum Minister Dame Angela Eagle said on Tuesday revealed ministers want to use more abandoned tower blocks, “old teacher training colleges”, or former student accommodation as a substitute for hotels and renting properties.
And more migrants are set to be housed in “dispersed accommodation” – houses, flats and bedsits.
The analysis comes as Ms Reeves confirmed every migrant hotel will be closed by July 2029.
The Chancellor said an extra £200m will allow the Home Office to “cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return people who have no right to be here”.
This could save taxpayers £1bn a year, Ms Reeves has claimed.
The Chancellor admitted it could take ministers another four years to close every asylum hotel, despite fears over spiralling costs.
Some 32,345 migrants are currently living in taxpayer-funded hotels, costing an estimated £54,000 a year each.
It comes as more Channel migrants arrived in Dover this morning, taking the total past 15,000.
The Chancellor told MPs: “I can confirm today that led by the work of the Home Secretary we will be ending the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers, in this Parliament.
“Funding that I have provided today including from the Transformation Fund will cut the asylum backlog; hear more appeal cases; and return people who have no right to be here, saving the taxpayer £1bn per year.
“That is my choice, Mr Speaker. That is Labour’s choice. And that is the choice of the British people.”
Ministers are considering whether to allow failed asylum seekers to appeal from their home countries to get them out of taxpayer-funded hotels.
Baroness Jenny Chapman, the Foreign Office minister responsible for migration, said there is “no legal reason” not to allow more asylum appeals from abroad.
Diplomats could even be encouraged to raise the proposition with countries refusing to take back migrants.
Baroness Chapman told the Daily Express the Government is considering the shift when asked about the prospect of return hubs being set up for illegal migrants.
She said: “If they’ve applied for asylum here and their application has been declined, there’s no legal reason, in many cases, not all, because there will be some places that we wouldn’t want to send people back to Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran.
“But there are places where you could return them at that point. And then if they wanted to make an appeal, they could make that appeal in country, in their own country, and there is no legal reason why we can’t do that.
“That’s something that this department is also considering doing. So you don’t even need a big return hub in order to do that.”
Migrants can only appeal from abroad if they have already been given the legal right to appeal, meaning they will likely remain in the UK whilst they begin legal proceedings.
They currently have 28 days to appeal once they have left the country.
Asked to set out how it could work in practice, the Foreign Office minister said: “Suppose you have made your claim, it has been denied. You then have the ability to appeal.
“At the moment we’d be putting you up in a hotel for who knows how long, because it takes that long because of the backlogs. The Home Office has done a good job, and it’s getting better, thank goodness.
“But the idea that you get to stay in a hotel while you exhaust every legal process there is, is, I don’t think, the right way to think about this. We need to consider the ability to make sure that those claims can take place outside of the UK.”
Baroness Chapman said the move would signal “we’re serious about dealing with these things” and “that you can’t expect to come here and stay for years, building a life, improving your chances of getting your claim agreed, indefinitely, at taxpayers’ expense.”
